The Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World
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- Create Date：2021-11-14 17:20:55
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Edward Shawcross
- ISBN：1541674197
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Summary
The operatic tragedy of Maximilian and Carlota， European aristocrats who stumbled into colonial power in Mexico—with bloody consequences
In the 1860s， Napoleon III， intent on curbing the rise of American imperialism， persuaded a young Austrian archduke and a Belgian princess to leave Europe and become the emperor and empress of Mexico。 They and their entourage arrived in a Mexico ruled by terror， where revolutionary fervor was barely suppressed by French troops。 When the United States， now clear of its own Civil War， aided the rebels in pushing back Maximilian’s imperial soldiers， the French army withdrew， abandoning the young couple。 The regime fell apart。 Maximilian was executed by a firing squad and Carlota， secluded in a Belgian castle， descended into madness。
Assiduously researched and vividly told， The Last Emperor of Mexico is a dramatic story of European hubris， imperialist aspirations clashing with revolutionary fervor， and the Old World breaking from the New。
In the 1860s， Napoleon III， intent on curbing the rise of American imperialism， persuaded a young Austrian archduke and a Belgian princess to leave Europe and become the emperor and empress of Mexico。 They and their entourage arrived in a Mexico ruled by terror， where revolutionary fervor was barely suppressed by French troops。 When the United States， now clear of its own Civil War， aided the rebels in pushing back Maximilian’s imperial soldiers， the French army withdrew， abandoning the young couple。 The regime fell apart。 Maximilian was executed by a firing squad and Carlota， secluded in a Belgian castle， descended into madness。
Assiduously researched and vividly told， The Last Emperor of Mexico is a dramatic story of European hubris， imperialist aspirations clashing with revolutionary fervor， and the Old World breaking from the New。
Reviews
Nijinsky
，
I’ve long wanted to read about Charlotte/Carlota， empress of Mexico， and her Maximilian， and with the preliminary praise that this book received， I figured that Shawcross’ history of this failed experiment would be a worthy choice。 The author does an exceptional job at taking such a complex and varied cast of characters， situations， settings， and contradictions and presenting them in a comprehensive and linear narrative。 With an advanced understanding of the figures involved， Shawcross presents I’ve long wanted to read about Charlotte/Carlota， empress of Mexico， and her Maximilian， and with the preliminary praise that this book received， I figured that Shawcross’ history of this failed experiment would be a worthy choice。 The author does an exceptional job at taking such a complex and varied cast of characters， situations， settings， and contradictions and presenting them in a comprehensive and linear narrative。 With an advanced understanding of the figures involved， Shawcross presents the many factions and experiences of Maximilian， Napoleon III， Juarez， etc。， in manners that demonstrate human understanding — all of the men and women involved were people full of hopes， naïveté， great intelligence， prejudices and evils， admirable and dishonest traits， and were beyond the scope of pure stock characters on the world stage。 It’s easy to dismiss this tale as one of unwanted imperial aggression， but it’s an enormous disservice to history to present an incredibly layered and difficult matter in such simple terms。 Shawcross is a talented historian， and I found one of the marks of his skills being his ability to not anticipate the ending of this misadventure。 When Charlotte returns to Europe to win back the support of the French， you believe in the chances of her success。 When Maximilian is offered （many） opportunities to escape Mexico， you believe， up until the day of his execution， that his survival is possible。 Shawcross’ book is a thrilling page-turner， never faltering in its momentum and constantly twisting and turning with surprises， deceptions， and the unexpected。 Up until now my knowledge of the imperial couple had been through the lenses of books on the Empress Elisabeth or Empress Eugenie。 But from the perspective of Maximilian and Charlotte， it was highly informative to read of Franz Josef’s hideous treatment of his brother and sister-in-law （Elisabeth does not come off well either）。 And Napoleon III’s terrible deceptions spoke ill of an already dissolute man。 It is one of those great tricks of history when a progressive is not born the first of his family， and it’s unfortunate that Maximilian was not better equipped to have been a successful emperor， for he had great insights and intentions in his plans for Mexico， despite the inappropriateness of an Austrian Hapsburg ruling a foreign land。 His lack of prejudice towards the indigenous peoples and his appreciation of their ancient cultures was genuinely startling to me — one doesn’t imagine a 19th century European prince bearing such goodwill towards those outside of his echelon。 Nonetheless， even with his good hearted intentions， Maximilian was not in any way prepared for such a role， and he was used and duped by France throughout the process of his nomination， his rule， and his downfall。 I found myself wondering how different history could have been if he had inherited the Hapsburg crown and given Austria and its domains some semblance of liberalism instead of his older brother ruling with such incredibly old-fashioned authoritarianism。 Shawcross is a gifted historian and I look forward to more of his work。 I was highly impressed with this history， my only complaint being that I wish it could have afforded to go into even more detail than it does over the intricacies of Maximilian’s and Charlotte’s lives （especially the Empress’， as she lived another 6 decades after her husband’s execution）。 However， this book isn’t a biography of them， it’s a history of their short-lived empire， and luckily the notes provide a bibliography of other books to source。 It is a very strange story， and one that isn’t discussed nearly as much as it should be。 。。。more
Mystic Miraflores
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I appreciate the author's detailed and well-researched book on Maximillian's （and Carlota's） tragic and short reign in Mexico。 There was an astonishing amount of first-person sources。 When I first studied Latin American history at the University of New Mexico in the early 1980s， Maximillian's reign was just a short blip on the radar， a sad anomaly。 The professor just swept over the time period。 This was way before the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan， aka "nation-building"。 Now that I read the au I appreciate the author's detailed and well-researched book on Maximillian's （and Carlota's） tragic and short reign in Mexico。 There was an astonishing amount of first-person sources。 When I first studied Latin American history at the University of New Mexico in the early 1980s， Maximillian's reign was just a short blip on the radar， a sad anomaly。 The professor just swept over the time period。 This was way before the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan， aka "nation-building"。 Now that I read the author's book， I can see how similar France's and Maximillian's "nation-building" efforts were to the more recent wars。 And the Afghanistan devastation ended in a similarly tragic way。 It seems that political and military leaders have not learned from the tragic lessons of the past。 。。。more
Dieter Moitzi
，
This book has been provided by the editor via NetGalley for the purpose of a review。As an Austrian and more importantly an Austrian who has worked as a guide in the Imperial Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna during my university years， I already knew my share about the Habsburgs， including Emperor Francis Joseph I （1830-1916） and his brother， archduke Maximilian。 Yet I had never looked closely at the latter’s life and luckless career as short-lived Emperor of Mexico。 I just remember thinking “Who in t This book has been provided by the editor via NetGalley for the purpose of a review。As an Austrian and more importantly an Austrian who has worked as a guide in the Imperial Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna during my university years， I already knew my share about the Habsburgs， including Emperor Francis Joseph I （1830-1916） and his brother， archduke Maximilian。 Yet I had never looked closely at the latter’s life and luckless career as short-lived Emperor of Mexico。 I just remember thinking “Who in their right minds would want to leave this heavenly place？” the last time I visited the cosy coastal Miramare Castle he had himself built near Trieste， Italy （for those who love travelling: both Trieste and the Castle are truly worth a visit）。That’s why I requested this book， and I can say it turned out the interesting and satisfying read I was hoping for。 I learned a whole lot more about Maximilian’s ambitions， the boredom that had seeped into his and his wife Charlotte of Belgium’s up-to-then eventless lives， their genuine political naiveté—and dare I say ineptitude？—， their hapless dreams and aspirations， their later illusions and delusions。 I also got all the confirmation I needed concerning the upstart French Emperor Napoleon III’s reckless scheming， his cunning manipulations， and his subsequent betrayal （I admit， I’ve never been a huge fan of the whole Bonaparte clan， historically speaking）。This book tells the story of this unique path that led a second son of an illustrious lineage from the golden-spoon-in-mouth youth as an Austrian archduke living in the splendid palaces of his family to the subservient role as rather powerless Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia （of his brother’s grace） to Emperor of Mexico who only ever ruled over and controlled bits and patches of that huge country。 It inevitably （or so it seems） leads to this man’s tragic and gory death in Querétaro， Mexico， in 1867， where he was executed by a Republican firing squad at the age of only 34。All is told in detail， yet not overwhelmingly so。 For example， I find the description of battles， even though they’re often very important， a rather dull reading experience; yet here， I didn’t get bored one second。 I also always say that good history-telling demands the same talent as good story-telling， and the author has that talent。 He spins his （historical） yarn skilfully and entertainingly。 What I could see perfectly well was the ludicrous character the whole Mexico-enterprise had from the start， the wobbly base upon which the empire was built， the unsavoury helpers and builders of that scheme， and the helpless credulity of both Maximilian and his wife， who （and that can maybe only be understood after the facts， of course） were doomed from the start。A very good book anyone interested in that period should read。 。。。more
Vickie
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